WALLY! Jackson!

WALLY!

Today (April 27) saw a meeting of the Washtenaw-Livingston "WALLY" commuter rail initiative. Interesting. It was packed - except for me and one other self-identified "interested citizen" - pretty much with "VIPs". Mayors, a state representative, councilmen, presidents of companies, heads of transportation agencies, even the Federal Railroad Administration sent two reps. I won't list anyone's name for fear of leaving someone out. Trust me, it was impressive.

As you may know, Ann Arbor Transportation Authority has agreed to take charge of the Wally project, shepherding it through its development phase and fielding federal and state transit dollars to pay for it. Tom Cornillie is the point man, doing a great job for AATA. The major step forward right now is getting two public relations firms on board: one to do input (community survey), the other output (publicity). Ilium Associates, the "input" company, has done work to support rail startups in Seattle, San Diego, Miami, Spokane, and several other places. Bob Prowda, Exec VP, is their representative. The "output" company, The Rossman Group, is a Lansing PR firm that has done a lot of local work in Michigan. Appropriately, Mark Pischea, President, worked with the Michigan Republican Party - he can focus on Livingston County - and Josh Hovey, Senior Account Exec, is a Democrat, so he can represent the firm in Washtenaw. Looks like a really good team.

What about stimulus funds? Well, maybe. According to Terri Blackmore of WATS, there's a $1.5 billion pot of money to be divided around the nation, and WALLY is probably eligible for some of it. (Crumbs, is my guess.) We won't know if we'll get any of it until the end of September, and we can't even apply until the application and eligibility rules come out May 18. Stay tuned.

A couple of other pieces of good news: Beck Development, which owns a generous pie-slice of land between Eight Mile Road and the track, west of Whitmore Lake, has begun demolition of the old Hoover-Universal / King-Sealy factory. That will make way for some kind of transit-oriented development and a park-and-ride lot, potentially a parking deck if there's demand for one. Here's a photo from my cell camera of the demolition operation.

Howell has also gotten on board with a downtown plan that incorporates the station. I hope to get more details on their plans and Beck's soon, and pass them along to you.

Finally, a big pat on the back to Great Lakes Central Railroad, lessors of the track. (The track belongs to the State, under MDOT.) Lou Ferris, CEO of parent Federated Capital, was at the meeting along with Mike Bagwell, President of GLC and several GLC staff members. It's because of Ferris's vision of restored passenger service north-south in Michigan that Federated is leasing the line and running trains on it, and that WALLY is advancing so fast. Now, if only the Ann Arbor Railroad... And it's because of Bagwell and the staff that GLC's operation is doing well. I caught this picture with my cell phone camera of a GLC doing good, old-fashioned, manual maintenance of way, which is at the heart of running a good railway. They're just north of the future Whitmore Lake station, at the Eight Mile crossing. Good work, guys, all of you!

Jackson Citizens for Economic Growth

They may not have Ann Arbor Spark, but look out for Jackson! They're eager to get their city back up and running, and two-year-old Jackson Citizens for Economic Growth (JCEG) is kicking it! They are totally pushing for the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail project (managed by SEMCOG) to come out to Jackson.

So they brought Rick Harnish, of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association advocacy group (of which I've been a proud member for several years) in from Chicago (on the train, of course!) to discuss the benefits of high speed rail for Jackson tonight. His message is not new to me, so if you're curious, visit his Web site.

One audience member asked why we're proposing to invest in "yesterday's technology" (rail) instead of monorail or maglev, and the answer was interesting. It involves the physics of rail, monorail, and maglev, but the short answer is that two steel rails on transverse ties can carry more weight at less cost than either other system. Monorails are particularly limited in weight, and meglevs are incredibly expensive. The only maglev in scheduled operation is in Shanghai, and the Chinese Government, who built it based on a German plan, isn't discussing how much it cost.

The highlight for me was the contrast between one young man in the audience, who said in effect, "Michigan is dying, so what good will a train do?", and the young people of Question, a JCEG group for those 19-40 who want to make a difference. The Question people are enthusiastic, energetic, articulate, and confident (as well as extremely good-looking!). They are not willing to wait for the older generation to "do something". They really give me hope, not only for Jackson, but for the rest of Michigan.

AATA: At the Top

AATA Board Meeting, 2009-04-22

At tonight's Ann Arbor Transportation Board meeting, two issues stood out. One can be dealt with quickly: the auditor's report confirms that AATA's 2008 financial records and processes were good. $28.6 M is in T-bills (safe, but at very low interest) to be cashed in for operating funds through July, after which next year's Ann Arbor millage is expected (predicted to be 1.2% lower than last year's). For day-to-day expenses, about $831K are in various bank accounts, distributed so that they are all (mainly) covered by FDIC's $250K insurance.

OK. The fun part was discussing the finalist for AATA's vacant CEO (Executive Director) position. And the finalist is (drum rolllllllllllllll) Mr. Michael Ford, with whom the Board will enter into negotiations to finalize terms. So what kind of a person is Mr. Ford?

Well, anyone would be forgiven for mistaking him at first glance for Paul Ajegba, AATA Board Treasurer. Both are tall, black, football- or basket-ball player types with strong, handsome facial features and nearly identical shaved, (polished?) pates. Maybe Ajegba is more the basketball type, and Ford the footballer; I'd love to have them stand together for a picture - they could easily pass for brothers.

Now, enough of this superficial stuff. Michael Ford comes to us from the San Joaquin (Stockton, California) Regional Transit District (which happens to have many of the same model hybrid buses as does AATA). Ford was Chief Operating Officer there, and came to us highly recommended by his CEO. They have implemented a popular BRT-like service, on which stops are limited, tickets are purchased in advance, and traffic lights give them priority when they are late. (This lacks many features of a true BRT system, and is more like the proposed Detroit area "ART", Advanced Rapid Transit.)

Before serving the San Joaquin RTD, Ford held the position of Executive Advisor to the General Manager of TriMet, the Portland, Oregon area transit agency. That agency runs both light rail and streetcar systems, giving Ford rail experience which will be very valuable as AATA presses forward with commuter rail. While in Portland, he served on the Board of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, and was active in working with transportation needs of the elderly and disabled community.

Stockton, with an estimated 375,426 inhabitants and 685,660 in the metro area, is considerably larger than Ann Arbor (283,904) and Washtenaw County (322,895) [all 2008 estimates]. Stockton experienced very rapid growth in the 1990s and early 2000s, but when the housing bubble burst, it crashed spectacularly. In 2008, housing prices fell a heart-stopping 39%, foreclosures reached 9.5%, and unemployment stood at 13.3%. Well, we do have it bad in Michigan, but I have to admit - grudgingly - that San Joaquin County has it worse.

However, their loss is our gain. Michael Ford is both a transit expert and an accomplished people-person, according to his former CEO and the AATA Board's interview report.

• He's a good listener, and not on an ego-trip.
• Although his answers to some interview questions lacked the "crispness" Board member Ted Annis would have liked, he satisfactorily covered all the issues raised, by the end of the interview.
• Rich Robben was impressed by the answer to his question, apparently "How would you deal with a management subordinate who is not performing up to expectation?". Instead of dealing with his response to the individual's performance, Ford talked about making sure each individual is in a position that's aligned with the goals of the organization - a more holistic approach.
• Chair Nacht was impressed by Ford's polite persistence on the rail issue. When asked repeatedly what he (Ford) would do if the commuter rail project fell through, Ford insisted he would keep trying until it was successful.

It's good to have someone who's worked with rail transit systems: he knows first-hand how popular they become, and how successful they are as engines of local economic development.

All in all, a good choice. I hope we'll soon be able to welcome Michael Ford officially to AATA.

Legislators and Transit, Lansing and Ann Arbor

Yesterday, April 21, several transit advocacy groups got together and had a rally at the State Capitol. Very well organized, we were given pointers on how to communicate effectively with legislators, grouped by county or region from all over Michigan, and shared box lunches with some of our legislators.

Naturally, I sat with other folks from Washtenaw County, mostly advocates for disability services. They're a very well informed group of people, and shared a lot of experience with me. (Thank you, especially Carolyn and LuAnne!)

Washtenaw County legislators in both houses are solidly behind transit, so our role was to encourage rather than persuade. ("Preaching to the choir" is how one of them put it, but it really helps legislators to know their constituents are backing them.) We spread the word about how desperately Michigan needs to reform the way we pay for transportation, as the state doesn't have enough money even to match our available Federal highway grants next year, and so stands to lose more of the money we pay in Federal taxes. Some figures of interest:

• For every dollar Michiganders pay in Federal Gas Tax, we currently get about 92 cents back in Federal matching funds, making us a "net donor state".
• The average expenditure on transportation among US states is about $184 per person, while Michigan spends only about $75 per person. (These figures are approximate, but in the ballpark.)

AATA Planning and Development Committee

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's Planning and Development Committee (PDC) met last night also. Carmine Palombo of SEMCOG updated us on the AA-Detroit commuter project. The starting date for service is still October 25, 2010, but before that, the plan is to get a train together to do demonstrations, raise public awareness, test the route, and train operators. One way to raise awareness ahead of the launch would be to run a special train to bring spectators to Ann Arbor for one or more football games, but of course there are a few hurdles to jump before that can be arranged. (Trains on the East-West line cannot access the North-South line that goes past Michigan Stadium, so direct service wouldn't be available. Buses would have to be marshaled to take spectators between the Amtrak station and Michigan Stadium.)

Michigan Department of Transportation will be the responsible authority when the line starts up, but a regional authority would be preferable, and when the dust settles a bit, such an authority will be put together.

Ridership has been estimated conservatively at 600 to 1000 daily trips, given the initial four round-trips planned for starters on weekdays, and three on weekends. (If we were applying for federal funds now, we would be required to make a very conservative estimate of ridership. There are specific rules as to how it's done, which we actually can't meet, because it has to be based on current cummuter "ridership". Not having cummuter service now, we couldn't meet federal requirements, and so were denied the use of 100 million federal dollars back in 2006 - remember? That's why we in Michigan has to set up this commuter route on our own.) Anyway, over the last several years, rail commuter services starting up in cities like Albuquerque, Memphis, and Salt Lake City have all exceeded the conservative ridership estimates with which they pulled in federal funds, and since these are areas just as wedded to their automobiles as Michigan (believe it or not!) I have no doubt we'll exceed the estimates, too.

What about funding? Peter Allen, who as at the first part of the meeting, asked what the fare was likely to be. That hasn't been pinned down yet, but the idea is to make fares comparable to commuter rail in other regions. Just to get from Ypsi to AA could be in the neighborhood of $1.50 to $2.00. This wouldn't come near to funding the operating cost, which is expected to be somewhere between $8-12 million each year, so as Mr. Palombo says, SEMCOG is "passing the hat" around local jurisdictions, foundations, and business that would benefit from the service.

One big unknown in the mix is the usage fee we'd have to pay the freight railroads for the privilege of using their tracks. Mr. Palombo says the fees are "not trivial", but negotiations with Canadian National are still under way.

CN owns the north-south track that runs past the Detroit New Center station. Canadian National just emerged victorious - somewhat - after a long, bruising battle with Chicago-area jurisdictions over purchasing the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJ&E), which provides a sort of "beltway" around the west and south of Chicago, badly needed to relieve freight train congestion. The neighborhoods through which it passes, alerted to CN's plan to run many more, and much longer trains over the line than the EJ&E had done, were up in arms, demanding either a prohibition of such traffic, or extensive mitigation. They asked that the Surface Transportation Board in Washington refuse to allow EJ&E to sell to CN, and though the sale eventually went through, the required mitigation measures will be very expensive and time-consuming for the railroad.

So CN must have emerged with a cautious respect for local authorities, but not necessarily much love for them. We'll see how that plays out in SEMCOG's negotiations over their Detroit trackage.

One other wild card in the trackage "deck" is Norfolk-Southern's (NS's) desire to divest itself of the Michigan Central East-West line that runs from Detroit to Chicago. It owns the portion from Detroit to Battle Creek, which it attempted to sell in 2008 to Watco, a company that operates short-line railways in several states. That sale was blocked, largely over concerns that Watco would not maintain the line up to standards needed to run Amtrak trains. NS still wants to drop that line. It owns a line largely parallel and a few miles south, the line that runs past Metro Airport and hits NS's main Philadelphia-Chicago line in Indiana, east of the line Amtrak uses (and owns).

So if NS wants to sell it, who will buy? Possibly MDOT, cash-strapped as it is. If that happens, there would be no usage-fees to pay along the majority of the AA-Detroit route, greatly reducing operating expenses. So that's in the hands of our politicians in Lansing, who, as we know, are as cash-starved as about anyone. Oh, well.f

Also on the PDC's radar: Moving Purchase of Service Agreement (POSA) partners to fully allocated costs by 2012. For years, Ann Arbor residents have paid a 2-mill tax to support AATA. Ypsilanti City, Ypsi Township, and Pittsfield Township, purchase AATA services from their general fund, not from a dedicated source, and don't currently pay the full cost. For some reason ;-) the folks in Ann Arbor have decided these partners need to stop "mooching" off Ann Arbor taxpayers and pay the whole cost of their own service by 2012. The draft plan, though, is to increase the fees in three steps of about 9% per year, so service can be continued without breaking the partners' budgets. We'll see.

Neil Greenberg, a relatively new guy at AATA, filled us in on plans for another express bus route. AATA has been running an experimental express between Chelsea and AA for a year now, and Neil has been applying his dynamic enthusiasm to tracking how that's working out for riders. Apparently it's going OK, with pleased riders telling their friends and getting them on board too, though the service isn't up to capacity yet. The next express route is being planned for Canton Township, and preliminary plans under way to leave from a lot at a Canton Township park.

The discouraging part of this is that several commercial sites refused to permit AATA riders to to park in their lots. I understand this is actually pretty common, and some malls in Oakland and Macomb Counties have canceled SMART bus privileges to bring their buses in. Hopefully malls will soon begin to realize that buses bring business. According to the Michigan Public Transportation Association, "Most people ride the bus either to earn money or to spend money."

There is yet no concrete starting date, but the goal is this summer, so there will be a relatively peaceful period for debugging the service before the intense Fall season begins. Like the Chelsea Express, this one will probably be operated by Indian Trails (which is why you haven't seen AATA buses in Chelsea!).

And what about WALLY, the AA-Howell commuter rail plan? It seems to be moving along as well. Next Monday, April 27, the monthly meeting is scheduled for 10 AM at the Northfield Township Hall, open to the public. A highlight of that meeting will be presentations by two consultants who have helped commuter rail projects get started in Seattle, San Diego, and Memphis, among other places. Their function is mainly to involve the community in getting the service running and keeping it going.

All in all, an exciting day, but stay tuned for more soon!

Progress notes

It's been busy the last few weeks, so there are quite a few things I'd like to let you know about. Mainly, things I picked up at meetings. Not very exciting? You be the judge!

City of Ypsilanti Planning Commission

It was kinda fun going to someone else's planning commission meeting (March 18). This one was so packed that several people were left standing. Why so popular? It was the official SEMCOG (Southeast Michigan Council of Governments) presentation of progress on the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail line, and officially the Ypsi Planning Commission needed to have a heads-up about the location of the Ypsilanti station.

There's very little doubt that the station will be in Depot Town, where the original Michigan Central Station was located. The folks who are so lovingly restoring the old freight house (think 19th century UPS center) are offering that noble building for passenger and retail use. I'm encouraged that they're thinking retail, because that's the beginning of TOD.

The Planning Commission, however, seemed more concerned that providing parking for commuters would deprive people coming to special events, like the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival (every summer). Hey, how about asking, "Can we have extra trains to bring people to the Heritage Festival?"

I met many of my counterparts on the Ypsi city Planning Commission, one of whom, Cheryl Zuelig, is also a TOD "believer", and was responsible for my learning about the Urban Land Institute meeting. So...

Urban Land Institute

At the March 19 ULI meeting in Livonia, there were progress reports on Transit Oriented Development (TOD) along the proposed Ann Arbor to Detroit commuter rail route.

• Hats off to the cities of Birmingham and Troy for being ahead of the curve! Even though the proposed route doesn't *yet* go through their cities, they're ready for when it's extended from Detroit to Pontiac. They've forged an alliance between their jurisdictions, which lie on either side of the tracks. They'll be cooperating on zoning and planning commission approvals, and already have nice plans for spiffing up the current Amtrak station, big-time.
• Good thinking, Dearborn! They're arranged to move the Amtrak station to a better location, and re-zoned around it for TOD.
• Come on, Ann Arbor - you can do better! For once, AA is lagging. They're planning to set up a little station across from the University of Michigan Hospital - but it's just a place where people can get on and off the train. No TOD or amenities around it. OK, the hospital is a 10-ton gorilla and doesn't leave space for anyone else there, anyway.

The Ann Arbor decision is actually OK as a temporary measure. The prime location (as I said in the last blog) is the crossing fo the Annie and Michigan Central, about half a mile west of the newly planned station. But that will need to wait until there's meaningful service both east-west and north-south before the location's potential is fully realized, and private investors are willing to pony up and build a high-rise there.

Michigan Association of Planning (MAP)

The spring MAP meeting in Lansing (March 26) featured nationally-known planners Christopher Leinberger and Ian Lockwood. Though I didn't learn anything significantly new, I got to meet planners from around the state, and I was very encouraged by the way the state of Michigan and its planners have been looking to the future. There is a great committment to new urbanism and TOD at the state level.

It was really good to chat briefly with Lockwood and Leinberger, who are quite accessible (once you beat your way through the admiring fans). Bad news: though Leinberger is listed as a University of Michigan professor, he is not actually going to return to Ann Arbor from Washington DC, where he's a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He says he's too involved with Transportation for America.

Anya Dale, Washtenaw County Planner

Anya is a dynamic 20-something planner who followed my Wake Up Washtenaw link from a note I'd left on Concentrate Ann Arbor. Her job - and her passion - is creating a magnet for talented people by turning Washtenaw Avenue between AA and Ypsi into a corridor for transit-oriented development.

We sat down over coffee in Espresso Royale on Main Street, and shared our enthusiasm for TOD. What she's proposing is exactly the kind of development I'd love to see on East Michigan Avenue in Ypsi Township (see the March 25 blog entry below). Anya urged me to come to today's meeting of stakeholders, and how could I refuse? But first...

Michigan Municipal League, Zone 1

MML's Zone 1 is southeast Michigan. This meeting (April 3) was attended mainly by mayors and council members, and I had a hard time finding other men who weren't wearing neckties ;-) and also others from Washtenaw County. Conan Smith was there, though. Without a necktie, bless him!

The highlight was the talk by James Corless, Campaign Director of Transportation for America's DC headquarters, telling us about changes we can expect and need to push for at the federal level, to improve our transportation options. Although MML is pro-TOD, there wasn't much about it other than Mr. Corless's talk and Conan Smith's enthusiastic networking with interested people.

Co-Housing at Sunward, Great Oak, and Touchstone

Co-housing is a movement that started in Europe (apparently Denmark) about 30 years ago. The goal is to make more rational use of resources by sharing them, and encouraging community interaction and cooperation. I read about the three Ann Arbor co-housing communities in Concentrate Ann Arbor (again...useful publication!).

So I went out to their Sunday afternoon group tour and found myself in a group of one, giving me the chance to focus on the kinds of questions I thought Wake Up Washtenaw should know the answers to.

You see, they designed the communities themselves, and were their own developers. I wanted to know what lessons we could benefit from, plus I wondered if any of them might be interested in taking part in developing a new sustainable community, the "greenfield" community I've been blogging about (January 19). Nick Meima, the champion of Sunward since 1994, was very helpful and frank. The very first lesson? Stop talking and get something done! Excellent idea! We'll have to get together and talk about it. ;-)

Washtenaw Avenue Talent Center

This was Anya Dale's first big meeting on TOD for Washtenaw Avenue. We met at Pittsfield Township's lovely new administrative center, and had people from about twenty different organizations, including at least three of the four jurisdictions through which Washtenaw Ave. passes (I think AA was missing), but also AATA, MDOT, Chamber of Commerce, WATS, several developers, even the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice. Not to mention Wake Up Washtenaw. :-)

The tenor was generally enthusiastic and up-beat, with the emphasis on getting ideas from the group on how to go about making the necessary changes in transportation, zoning, marketing, and legislation. Lots of jumbo sticky-notes were issued, written on, stuck up on walls, re-arranged, and now have to be typed up by Anya and her helper.

In spite of the enthusiasm, there was an underlying current of pessimism, perhaps best voiced by Newcombe Clark, Publisher of Concentrate Ann Arbor (that useful e-zine again!). To paraphrase: Michigan's population is shrinking, so we can't expect to have people really build anything new on Washtenaw. Let's get real! We'd need a veritable "sea change" (his words) to make this work. It was actually a very good point. He's a partner in a real estate firm, and there aren't many realtors who feel optimistic these days.

Well, I rose to the bait like the sucker I am. (At least I wasn't the only one.) I was glad he used the word "sea change", because that's exactly what we should expect. As global warming raises sea level, Michigan will become a much more desireable place to live. All those Michiganders who fled to Florida will be back in the next few decades. Climate change is also expected to make the US southwest hotter and more arid, and Michigan just a little wetter and warmer, so the Michiganders who escaped to Arizona will be back, too. Let's get ready for them.

I could go on, but I'll spare you.

All in all, an excellent meeting. Wake Up Washtenaw is getting a higher profile, so let's keep moving!

Final section of the White Paper! 6.2 Compact Transportation-Oriented Infill Project

6.2 Compact Transportation-Oriented Infill Project

One of the most exciting potential infill projects in Washtenaw County is the location at which the former Michigan Central Railroad1 and the Ann Arbor Railroad cross. In a post-automotive age, this would be the single most important crossroads of the region west of Detroit and east of Jackson: the place where the east-west rail line from Detroit to Chicago meets the north-south line from Toledo to Traverse City.
This cross-over is also key to sustainable, transit-oriented development in Washtenaw County, because of the potential of each of the two rail lines as corridors for sustainable development. For transit to be a practical and meaningful alternative to driving, it's essential to be able to transfer quickly and conveniently from one transit line to another. In countries where passenger rail is healthy, such as Europe and Japan, stations are placed at the junctions between lines to facilitate transfers. Just as importantly, healthy passenger rail systems give rise to lucrative retail, office, and lodging venues in and around such rail transfer points.
Considering both the importance of having a transfer point at this junction, and the business potential of transit oriented development, the crossing of the Michigan Central and Ann Arbor railways is probably the single most valuable location for TOD in Washtenaw County. It also has potential as a "green" development, because of adjacent empty land that could be used as either park or urban farmland.
Let's take a look at the details. An aerial photo (next page) is overlaid with proposed areas of development.

• The north-south Ann Arbor Railroad2 (AA, red line) enters the area from the southwest after having passed immediately west of downtown Ann Arbor, following the Allen Creek valley. Along most of its route it is elevated on an embankment (except for the Summit Street crossing, which is at grade). The line swings eastward in a broad curve, passing over Main Street and the Michigan Central line. From there, it crosses the Huron River just upstream from Barton Dam on a single-track viaduct, arriving at the north shore of the river going in an easterly direction. Just beyond the east edge of the map, the line swings northward, paralleling Plymouth Road for a while as it aims for Whitmore Lake, Howell, and points north. On the north bank of the river, the track belongs to the State of Michigan3, and is leased to Great Lakes Central Railroad4, a Federated Capital Corporation subsidiary5. From the bridge south to Toledo, the line still belongs to the original Ann Arbor Railroad Shortly before crossing Main Street, there is an embankment which formerly carried a steep track down to the Michigan Central line for exchange purposes. That track has long since been torn up, and the combination of the track angles and grade separations makes it impractical for trains to change from the MC to the AA line.
• The former Michigan Central line (MC, orange line) enters the map area near the southeast corner and curves north as it follows the Huron River valley. The original Michigan Central Ann Arbor station, currently a restaurant, is just off the map on the right. The Amtrak station is a small building south of the track, under the shadow of the Broadway Street bridge. Despite its humble size, this station is the busiest in Michigan, and second only to Chicago Union Station in passenger activity along Amtrak's Wolverine Corridor: 144,542 in 20086.
• The current composition of this section is a mix of mostly single-story sales and office buildings, automotive repair facilities, and two-story frame residences. The City of Ann Arbor has its utility vehicle yard south of Summit, between Main and the AA line. The shape of the area is challenging because existing residences have a distinct midwestern charm, and it would be insensitive to destroy them. The remaining space currently consists of four disparate areas:
  • North (brown): the core rail crossing area, with small offices and automotive shops;
  • Southwest (blue): the city maintenance yard7;
  • South central (pink): small commercial buildings with parking facilities;East (green): potential open space "“ south of the MC line, owned by Amtrak and occupied by the current small, one-story station building and adjacent parking lots; north of the line, owned by Detroit Energy, and possibly contaminated.

There are several ways this area could be developed, but the general idea is to focus intensive commercial and hospitality facilities as close as possible to the actual crossing of the tracks. The reason for this is simple: to make it as easy as possible for passengers wanting to transfer from one train to another to walk. As they walk and wait for their train, they should be surrounded by inviting and relaxing opportunities to browse for books, gifts, a cup of latte, a snack, or a meal. For those with a longer layover, comfortable hotel accomodations should be within easy walking distance. Office and living space should be almost as close, and all should be designed to be as energy-efficient and self-sufficient as possible. With relatively little open space, and located within the City of Ann Arbor, there would be no need for the development to provide its own water or dispose of its own waste; however, the available open space could be used for urban farming as well as recreation.

The plan offered here is anchored by a high-rise building in the core area, straddling both rail lines and Main Street. Building over the rails and street provided a covered (but well ventilated) space for passengers transfering between trains and from automobiles or buses to trains. It also makes more efficient use of the limited space. Since the rail lines are on separate levels, passengers would transfer between them using escalators and elevators. A bus terminal for local and regional service, also under cover, would be located nearby, probably on the same level as Main Street and the MC rail line. Above the transportation levels would be retail space, and above that, office, hotel and possibly residential space as well.

In the south central areas along Depot Street and Main Street, compact residential development consisting of apartments or townhouses could be built. An existing three-story office structure recently completed at 201 Depot Street would fit nicely into this area.

The property highlighted in blue, currently the city utility yard, could also be developed as compact residential or mixed-use space. A related alternative is to use the space as an arts and creativity center. (This idea was proposed at a Calthorpe town meeting sponsored by the Downtown Development Authority.) The purpose of such a center is to encourage artistic creativity as an essential part of Michigan's economic development. Evidence shows that where creative arts flourish, engineering and technological creativity thrives in conjunction. A creativity center would include affordable living space, studio facilities, galleries, and performance spaces, as well eating and entertainment venues.

The green areas on the map are actually "brown": either parking lots, small buildings, or potentially contaminated land. Their location near the river makes them ideal for recreation and urban farming, once they are remediated.

An interesting opportunity exists because of the proposed Ann Arbor Greenway, which runs roughly along the AA line in the Allen Creek flood plain. Much of the land proposed for this development is in the proposed Greenway area, so they might be perceived as mutually exclusive. However, the two plans can not only coexist, but thrive together. New development of this type can create green space to be enjoyed by residents and passers-by alike. Since the land is a flood plain, buildings should be elevated above 200-year flood levels, leaving space below to weave paths and shade-loving shrubbery around a resurrected Allen Creek, which is now largely buried in an underground culvert. This is an excellent place to exercise creative landscape architecture, with a result which could greatly enhance the area. The core building itself would be situated over the mouth of Allen Creek, where it flows into the Huron River. The challenge of creating a space at the base of the building that not only accomodates the creek, but celebrates it, would result in architecture worthy of great distinction.

In Conclusion

New York Times writer Nicolai Ouroussoff, in a recently published article8 discusses the condition of America's cities. He concludes with this observation: "A half-century ago American engineering was the envy of the rest of the world. Cities like New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans were considered models for a brilliant new future. Europe, with its suffocating traditions and historical baggage, was dismissed as a decadent, aging culture. It is no small paradox that many people in the world now see us in similar terms."

Washtenaw County does not need to suffocate in its traditions, weighed down with the historical baggage of an automobile-obsessed culture. But unless we wake up now and begin to transform ourselves, we may well discover that we are trapped in an energy-lean world with few resources to effect our transition to a desirable, sustainable, low-energy lifestyle.

-- Wake up, Washtenaw! --

End Notes

1 The Michigan Central Railroad, originally incorporated in 1846, is now owned and operated by several different companies. The portion that runs through Washtenaw County is currently owned by (Norfolk Southern Railway) and is used by Amtrak for its "Wolverine Service" trains running between Detroit and Chicago.

2 Ann Arbor Railroad: http://www.annarbor-railroad.com/

3 The State of Michigan refers to this rail line as the Ann Arbor and Northwest Michigan System

4 Great Lakes Central Railroad: http://www.glcrailroad.com/

5 Federated Capital Corporation: http://www.federatedcapital.com/

6 Boardings and deboardings at Ann Arbor's Amtrak station according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

7 City of Ann Arbor Street Maintenance Services has sold this property.

8 Nicoloai Ouroussoff, "Reinventing America's Cities: The Time Is Now". The New York Times, March 25, 2009.

White Paper part 6.1: Corridor Infill

6. Possible Development: Infill

Two general types of development can be encouraged in parts of Washtenaw County that are already built up: compact and corridor. We'll discuss two specific possibilities here.

6.1 Corridor Infill Project

Description of the area: Drive due west from Times Square in the heart of downtown Detroit. You're at the eastern origin of US 12, Michigan Avenue. If wanderlust moved you to drive all the way to the western terminus of US 12, you would find yourself in the port of Aberdeen, Washington, near the Pacific coast. But less than an hour from the start of your trek, you would enter Washtenaw County, just north of the Willow Run airport and manufacturing complex, built during World War Two to produce thousands of B-17 bombers, currently owned by financially ailing General Motors. Local residents insist this was where the original "Rosie the Riveter" worked, and if you continue just a little farther in Ypsilanti Township, you'll see on either side of Michigan Avenue plenty of gritty areas where aging Rosies hang out, largely forgotten by their country.
East Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti Township is a problem area, with substandard housing,1 prostitution,2 "blight and safety issues, as well as Fire Department issues".3 In April of 2001, the Township Board was presented with a draft "Ecorse Road and East Michigan Avenue Corridor Plan"4 to address such issues; it was carefully researched and proposed following New Urbanism5 principles, and had great potential. However, after brief consideration by the Township Board, it was rejected because opposition was voiced by a handful of vocal business owners who believed the plan might be detrimental to their businesses.6 The current problems just mentioned demonstrate that nothing significant has been done since 2001 to address the underlying problems.
Because of the careful work and sound principles that went in to the corridor plan, it is an excellent basis for sustainable, transit-oriented corridor infill development. In the intervening years, the urgency of the energy situation has become more apparent, so a number of details need to be added to the plan. We will focus here only on Michigan Avenue, though similar plans for Ecorse Road are certainly appropriate.
Summary of the 2001 Plan
Here are the goals and strategies proposed in the 2001 plan; I have taken the liberty of rearranging the order of the strategies, but have left the original wording7 unchanged.
Michigan Avenue Goals:

• Establish an active, strong economic center for the community as well as the region at the same time portraying a comfortable, positive image for Ypsilanti Township.
• Provide safe and efficient circulation for multiple modes of transportation along the corridor that: preserves the level of service of the roadway; provides convenient access to business and neighborhoods; unifies the corridors and surrounding community; and promotes the quality image of the Township

Strategies:

• Plan for public investment that will complement and support private investments along the corridor which support the character and design goals
• Reduce reliance on the automobile by creating a pedestrian and transit oriented, mixed-use environment
• Coordinate with the local transit authority to improve the condition and function of bus stops and expand the route area to better serve residents, shoppers and employees and enhance access to core locations
• Create a pedestrian-oriented environment for all sites that is compatible with the character of the area and the nature of the uses
• Expand the residential in a manner consistent with traditional neighborhoods where appropriate in the form of high quality townhouse style units
• Develop specific special conditional use, or "performance standards", for intense uses to ensure they are properly located and designed
• Incorporate open spaces and plazas into site design
• Design commercial sites in a manner that creates a pedestrian friendly, traffic calming environment
• Orient buildings and entrances to businesses towards the road with parking in the rear
• Require pathways along all site frontages that are a reasonable width based on available right-of-way, the size of the lot and surrounding conditions
• Design sites to accommodate pedestrian movement; Promote a convenient and comfortable pedestrian environment by providing connections to neighborhoods and safe places for walking
• Institute traffic calming techniques to reduce speeds along the corridors
• Develop specific access management standards that regulate the number of driveways per site, driveway spacing from other driveways and driveway spacing from adjacent intersections
• Establish specific and effective landscaping requirements that creates a tree-lined streetscape; screens and softens views of the site; and enhances internal open space and parking areas
• Install decorative street lighting and street furniture
• Establish architectural design standards that relate to the type, scale and intensity of proposed uses and the desired quality and appearance of the business districts E. Michigan and Ecorse Road Corridor Plan
• Create consistent building lines and setbacks that relate to the size of the proposed lot and type and scale of the building and use
• Be cognizant of the rear facades of buildings in order to present a quality, welcoming appearance to businesses for visitors and to ensure pleasing views from abutting properties
• Encourage placement of utilities underground
• Develop parking lot design standards

Additional Recommendations
The goals and strategies recommended in 2001 are entirely consistent with Wake Up Washtenaw's vision. A number of additional strategies will make this plan more sustainable, and fit it into "smarter" overall growth strategies for the 21st century.

• Use Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) to encourage new development in the Michigan Avenue corridor and halt greenfield suburban development in Ypsilanti Township.
  The southern end of Ypsilanti Township is zoned for extremely low-density, upscale development. It was equipped with water and sewer lines in the 1970s, but south of Textile Road there are still many acres of farms and woodland. Rather than bulldoze fields and trees, development dollars can be applied to resolving the problems of the Michigan Avenue corridor.
• Grow the transit system on Michigan Avenue. Although the local transit agency provides nominal service to the area, it is inadequate to building reliable patronage. Michigan Avenue is served only between Spencer and Harris, about one-third of the length of the corridor in Ypsilanti Township. AATA Route 10, the line that runs on Michigan Avenue, is scheduled only once every hour, in a west-bound direction. There is no east-bound service, so passengers coming from Ann Arbor and downtown Ypsilanti must ride a circuitous route that takes twice as long to reach Michigan Avenue (29 minutes) as in the other direction. There is no service on Sunday, though there are numerous churches along the route (but not on Michigan Avenue).
• Identify open areas in the Michigan Avenue corridor to designate as urban gardens. As oil prices make it more expensive to transport fruit and vegetables from out of state, this land will provide fresh, local produce at reasonable prices. Coordinate with Transition-Ypsilanti8 to identify locations and appropriate technologies for urban gardening.

The first two strategies require some expansion, so we'll discuss TDR and transit growth next.
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
TDR combines local government and business interests to protect open land (such as farm and forest) and encourage denser development in areas where that is desirable. The local government designates sending areas (typically farm and forest) and receiving areas (generally inner core or other places where development is encouraged).

• The local jurisdiction (Ypsilanti Township) identifies sending and receiving areas.
• The jurisdiction then allocates "development credits" within the sending area.
• Owners of land in the sending areas sell their development credits to developers, speculators, or the community in return for payment and/or a tax abatement. Free market forces determine the value of the development credits. Once the credits are sold, a permanent conservation easement is placed on the land.
• Developers who purchase these credits are then allowed to build within the receiving zone in ways that are more profitable for them. This is usually at a higher density or with taller buildings, using such measures as Floor to Area Ratio (FAR) and feet of height.9

Growing Transit on Each Michigan Avenue
A frequent dilemma in transit-oriented development is whether to build the transit first to encourage development, or develop first to provide riders for transit. A good solution in this case is to grow transit step-by-step while development is encouraged in other ways.
Step 1: Lay the financial groundwork. As part of any improvement of East Michigan Avenue, a funding foundation must be in place. A number of possibilities exist, such as a Special Assessment District for public financing, a Business Association for private financing, a Community Development Corporation for channeling public and private funds and seeking grants (including Brownfield Redevelopment grants). As this is being written, Washtenaw County is considering10 a county-wide plan to fund transit, but local funding for Michigan Avenue would always be helpful to ensure adequate service.
Step 2: Increase service quality and frequency. Service in one direction over a small part of the corridor is clearly inadequate. A bus route that serves Michigan Avenue exclusively, from downtown Ypsilanti to the county line or the Willow Run industrial complex is more straight-forward and easy for users to understand. Service should initially be increased to once every half-hour, to put it on a par with service in the Ann Arbor area. Even that is not adequate for transit-oriented development, so as development begins to happen in the corridor frequency should be increased.
Step 3: Re-engineer Michigan Avenue. In concert with efforts to develop a human-scale environment in the corridor as suggested in the 2001 plan, Michigan Avenue needs to be re-built from a five-lane highway having speed limits of 45 and 50 MPH, with multiple driveways and alleyways debouching into it. Part of this re-engineering should involve dedicated transit lanes. Initially these would be used by buses, perhaps in a "rapid bus" (BRT) configuration.
Step 4: Add a fixed-guideway transit system. Eventually a fixed-guideway system such as light rail could be added. Fixed-guideway systems are ideal as magnets for development, because they encourage investment of high-density residential and commercial real estate. Light rail on Michigan Avenue from Detroit through Ypsilanti is identified as option LRT 5 in the 2006 SEMCOG/Parsons study11. Because of its initial cost, it is not being considered as the first step in the Detroit-Ann Arbor transportation corridor, but as federal and private funding becomes available it may well be started. Having dedicated transit lanes already in place would significantly lower the cost, and hence raise the likelihood, of developing such a system. Having East Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti be part of a light rail corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor would be a significant boost to the local economy, and would greatly add to the value of real estate. It would make East Michigan Avenue especially attractive to businesses considering a location in the proposed Aerotropolis Corridor.12
Overview of the East Michigan Avenue Corridor

The aerial view shows the northeast section of Ypsilanti Township around the East Michigan Avenue corridor. A rough, preliminary indication of suggested new features is overlaid. The intention is to stimulate further discussion and investigation; no GIS, title, or land survey has been performed.The main features shown are:

• Land to consider for redevelopment;
• Land currently not developed to consider for designation as parks or urban farms;
• One primary transit station (large circle at Harris Road);
• Several secondary transit stations (smaller circles);
• Wiard Road extension over the railway, as recommended in the 2001 plan.

Click image to see full-size version

Notes

1 The Ann Arbor News, Thursday October 09, 2008, "Laswuit alleges unsafe conditions at Ypsilanti Township mobile home park" by Khalil Hachem. (Online at http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2008/10/laswuit_alleges_unsafe_conditi.html)

2 The Ann Arbor News, Sunday October 19, 2008, "Ypsilanti Township steps up prostitution crackdown" by Tom Gantert. (Online at http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2008/10/ypsilanti_township_steps_up_pr.html)

3 Wm. Douglas Winters, Township Attorney. Charter Township of Ypsilanti, Minutes of the June 3, 2008 Regular Meeting. (Online at http://www.twp.ypsilanti.mi.us/documents/serve.php/1756/June_3rd_2008.pdf)

4 Charter Township of Ypsilanti. "Ecorse Road and East Michigan Avenue Corridor Plan," online at http://www.twp.ypsilanti.mi.us/corridor/

5 New Urbanism. http://www.newurbanism.org/ and http://www.cnu.org/.

6 Personal communications, Joseph Lawson and David Nicholson, January and February, 2009.

7 "Preliminary recommendations", online at http://www.twp.ypsilanti.mi.us/corridor/ (click on Preliminary Recommendations)

8 Transition-Ypsilanti: http://www.ypsilantitransition.ning.com

9 Transfer of Development Rights (TDR): National Association of Realtors "Field Guide to Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs)" (http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg804) and 1000 Friends of Minnesota "Fact Sheet #5" (http://www.1000fom.org/lctools5.htm) and

10 "Countywide transit plan envisioned in Washtenaw." Posted by John Mulcahy, The Ann Arbor News, March 25, 2008 09:45AM. On line at http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/03/countywide_transit_plan_envisi.html

11 "Ann Arbor-Downtown Detroit Alternatives Analysis / Draft Environmental Impact Statement Transit Study. Detailed Definition of Alternatives." Prepared by Parsons Corporation for Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, June 2006. Online at http://www.semcog.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=5567

12 Detroit Region Aerotropolis: http://www.detroitregionaerotropolis.com/

Drowning in a Sea of Red Tape

Today I attended a meeting of the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS). I'd been wondering why more progress wasn't being made toward green transportation options. Why is "business as usual" so prevalent when the signs of global warming and peak oil are so clear?

I discovered what you may already know. It's not so much lack of will or intelligence. There are lots of people who are smart and want to do the best for our communities. But they're drowning in a sea of red tape. The weight of bureaucracy has effectively crushed them.

Let me explain. WATS is a mid-level transportation authority - not really a "study". I learned that every transportation project, from paving a gravel road in the countryside to building a rapid transit system, is required to go through a long chain of approvals. The local jurisdiction (in my area, Ypsilanti Township) puts in a request to the Washtenaw County Road Commission. That request is sifted along with requests from all the other townships and prioritized. Does it fit in to the long-range plan? Is there a potential source of money for it? There are about ten possible sources of money, all of which require an application and approval, all of which are under funded by at least 50% compared with the requests submitted.

Requests from all township are then prioritized and taken to the WATS Technical Committee to get a ballpark on the possible cost. The Technical Committee is made up of engineers and planners from all the townships, cities, and villages, plus the two major universities, the County Road Commission, and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. There, our township requests meet up with similar requests from the cities and villages that have their own road department, like Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and so forth. The WATS Technical Committee then hands over all the requests to WATS staff (there are five professionals on staff), who organize them, prioritize them, and take them to the WATS Policy Committee, the group I attended today.

The Policy Committee is made up of representatives of all the same jurisdictions as the Technical Committee, but rather than being engineers and planners, they are elected board members or representatives of boards. This Committee is like a mini-legislature, with power to approve or disapprove of any requests and plans brought to it. It seldom disapproves, however, because by the time plans reach this group, they're pretty well balanced and thought out. But if any jurisdiction felt it was being discriminated against in some way, it would be able to object here and possibly raise enough support to rearrange the plans or block projects. There were about a dozen motions voted on this morning, and every one passed unanimously.

Once the WATS Policy Committee approves a plan, it then goes to SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, to make sure it fits in with the regional long-range plan. Plans approved by SEMCOG that require state funding (most of them do) go to the Michigan Department of Transportation for approval, and if they get the nod, they go to the US Department of Transportation for Federal funding approval. If it gets funded, it goes back through the chain and ends up on the desk of a Road Department or Commission official (overworked and understaffed) who will send it out for bids if it's over $1000 - and what project isn't?

So that's seven (7) layers that deal with each project or plan. Is this necessary? Well, probably it is. Look what American Insurance Group (AIG) did with Federal bailout money that was handed over for unsupervised use. Bonuses to executives who had ruined the company! I can see why many sharp eyes are needed to make sure taxpayer money doesn't end up in the wrong pockets.

It may be necessary, but the Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in here. The people in charge of transportation planning - the professionals - have to be so intimately aware of the bureaucratic maze, including twenty looming deadlines for applications, that long-term planning is undertaken with only half their attention. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is a good example. All the planning agencies at today's WATS meeting mentioned that they were forced to drop all other activity to meet deadlines for stimulus fund applications. Stimulus money can't be used to administer the stimulus money, which makes sense in one way, but ends up totally overworking and stressing out a host of public servants, who are understaffed because of budget shortfalls and layoffs but are not allowed to (re-)hire anyone to help out.

So there we are: our shrinking tax dollars safeguarded by a host of public watchdogs who have no time to think carefully and creatively about the future. No wonder long-term plans end up being "business as usual" and more of the same. The mechanism of good government requires them to pump really hard to get through this year's work, like bicycling on a 100-k tour in low gear.

It's like having two equally important "road maps" to deal with: the actual roads, and the bureaucratic roads. Obviously, the professionals can't spend more than half their time navigating the roads and transit systems of the county; at least half their time has to be spent in the maze of government departments, boards, commissions, committees, funds, deadlines, forms, laws, rules, and executive orders. Drowning in a sea of red tape.

That's where citizens' groups like Wake Up Washtenaw come in. It's our role to make sure the vision doesn't die in committee. Hold on to it!